Research Methods in Education: An Introduction

Each chapter concludes with a Summary, Key Concepts, Exercises, Notes, and References. Preface. Acknowledgments. 1.Educational Research: Its Nature and Characteristics. Introduction. The Nature of Educational Research. Classification of Educational Research. The Role of Theory. The Activities of the Research Process. 2.Identification of a Research Problem. Selection of a Research Problem. Statement of the Research Problem. 3.The Review of the Literature. The Activities of the Review of the Literature. Sources of Information. Computer Searches. Selecting Studies for the Review of the Literature. Assembling and Summarizing Information. Interpreting and Using Information. 4.Research Design in Quantitative Research. The Purposes of Research Design. The Concept of Controlling Variance. Characteristics of Good Research Design. 5.Experimental Research. The Meaning of Experimental Design. Criteria for a Well-Designed Experiment. Posttest-Only Control Group Design. Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design. Solomon Four-Group Design. Factorial Designs. Repeated Measures Designs. Designs Extended in Time. Interpreting Results of Experiments. Randomness and Representativeness. 6.Quasi-Experimental Research. The Problems of Validity. Posttest-Only, Nonequivalent Control Group Design. Pretest-Posttest, Nonequivalent Control Group Design. Time Series Designs. Single-Subject Designs. Action Research and Quasi-Experimental Research. 7.Survey Research. Survey Research: Its Scope and Description. Survey Designs. The Methodology of Survey Research. Questionnaire Surveys. Interview Surveys. Other Surveys. Analyzing and Reporting Survey Results. 8.Research Design in Qualitative Research. The Epistemology of Qualitative Research. Components of Research Design. Types of Designs in Qualitative Research. Perspectives for Qualitative Research. Reliability and Validity of Qualitative Research. Use of Computers in Qualitative Research. 9.Historical Research. The Value of Historical Research. Sources of Information in Historical Research. The Methodology of Historical Research. Quantitative Methods in Historical Research. Comments on the Reporting of Historical Research. 10.Ethnographic Research. The Nature of Ethnography in Education. A Conceptual Schema for Ethnographic Research. The Process of Ethnographic Research. Examples of Ethnographic Research in Education. The Reliability and Validity of Ethnographic Research. The Role of Ethnographic Research. 11.Sampling Designs. The Concept of a Random Sample. Criteria for a Sampling Design. Stratified Random Sampling. Cluster Sampling. Systematic Sampling. Considerations in Determining Sample Size - Random Sampling. Purposeful Sampling. 12.Measurement and Data Collection. Concepts of Measurement. The Variables Measured in Educational Research. Tests and Inventories Used for Measurement. Measures Involving Holistic Scoring. Where to Find Test Information. Scoring and Data Preparation. 13.Data Analysis: Descriptive Statistics. The Multiple Meanings of Statistics. Distributions. Correlation - A Measure of Relationship. Data Analysis by Computer. 14.Data Analysis: Inferential Statistics. Context for Using Inferential Statistics. Testing Hypotheses and Estimating Parameters. Inferences from Statistics to Parameters: A Review. Parametric Analyses. Nonparametric Analysis. Correlational Analyses. Selecting an Appropriate Statistical Analysis. Comments about Statistical Analysis. Meta-Analysis. 15.Communicating about Research. Major Sections of the Research Proposal. Major Sections of the Research Report. Other Sections of the Research Report. Putting a Report Together. Guidelines for Presenting Papers at Meetings. Presentations to Dissertation and Thesis Committees. 16.Evaluating Research Reports. Types of Errors and Shortcomings in Reports. Critiquing Major Sections of a Research Report. Overall Impressions When Evaluating a Report. The Evaluation of Proposals. Appendix 1: Conducting a CD-ROM Search Using SilverPlatter. Appendix 2: Ethical and Legal Considerations in Conducting Research. Appendix 3: Solutions to Exercises. Appendix 4: Tables. Table A. Ordinates and Areas of the Normal Curve. Table B. Critical Values of t. Table C. Upper Percentage Points of the x2 Distribution. Table D. Upper Percentage Points of the F-Distribution. Table E. Critical Values of the Correlation Coefficient. Glossary of Research Methods Terms. Name Index. Subject Index. Disk Instructions.